1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scanning device. More specifically, the present invention relates to scanning devices capable of reading an image via a computer network.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, it is required to pre-register an address of a computer so that data read by a device having a scanning function can be sent to the computer connected to a local area network (LAN). For this reason, it is necessary to input address information for the computer into the scanning device in advance. Also, when parameters relating to reading an image, such as paper size and resolution, are input into a scanning device which operates in a conventional manner, the operator of the scanning device needs to confirm the parameters each time in order to obtain preferred parameters. These have been obstacles for efficiently using the device.
In order to solve these problems, a technique relating to a network scanner in which image data may be directly sent to a client personal computer (PC) from the network scanner without using a file server is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 10-308840. The disclosed scanning device includes an image inputting means, a network connecting means through which PCs send and receive data via a network, and a control means capable of exchanging data between the image inputting means and the network connecting means. The control means is a network scanner having an input controlling means, a storage means, and a transmission control means. The input controlling means controls the image inputting means according to parameters for reading an image. The storage means temporally stores an image data. The transmission control means is capable of sending the image data to the address of a client PC. Although the network scanner is capable of receiving addresses or parameters for reading images from client PCs and sending the image data read to a browser of a client PC, it is shared with difficulty by a plurality of client PCs. The first reason for this is that it is not capable of receiving data from client PCs in parallel. Also, it takes time for the input controlling means to carry out a procedure in which parameters for reading images are set to control the image input means. Moreover, the use of the scanning device is devoted to one client PC for a long time during a period in which addresses and parameters for reading images are received from a client PC and the image data read are sent to the client PC or, when the connection to the client PC is not good, the image data are transferred to the file server. Accordingly, the scanning device does not have a real multi-user function by which a plurality of users can use the device at the same time and, as a result, its efficiency is not very good.